Nonprofits

On this edition of StudioTulsa Medical Monday, a discussion about fighting opioid addiction at the individual, societal, and legal levels. Our guest is the successful OKC-based trial lawyer, Reggie Whitten. He'll be a co-lead counsel for the State of Oklahoma in an upcoming lawsuit against four different Big Pharma firms; that trial is set to begin in May of next year. Whitten's stake in the lawsuit is also quite personal; in 2002, he lost his son, Brandon, to a car accident triggered by Brandon's addiction to prescription drugs.

Our guest on ST is Ren Barger, the founder and CEO of Tulsa Hub, which is, as noted at its website, "a syndicate of volunteers on a mission to change lives through cycling. It is the only nonprofit in Oklahoma providing certified bicycling-for-transportation education, refurbished bicycles, safety gear, and follow-up support to people in poverty, people with physical and mental disabilities, and people who are otherwise disenfranchised in our community.

The Arts and Humanities Council of Tulsa will now be known as AHHA Tulsa. As per the AHHA website: "The organization's Board of Directors voted recently to change the name to something modern that encompasses the organization's mission to cultivate creativity in Tulsa, while also honoring its decades-long history.

Our guest today is Lee Gordon, the 2018 Laureate of the Brock Prize in Education. Gordon is the founder of Hand in Hand: The Center for Jewish-Arab Education in Israel. This Israeli non-profit organization has created a network of integrated, bi-lingual public schools serving Arab and Jewish children alike. Starting with just 50 students in 1998, as we learn on today's StudioTulsa, Hand in Hand by now has six campuses. It also has, more to the point, some 1,600 or so students who belive in Jewish-Arab partnership and coexistence.

Oklahoma -- sadly, and perhaps unsurprisingly -- is number two in the United States when it comes to teen pregnancy. On this edition of ST Medical Monday, we learn about an organization working to address our state's high teen-birth rate. Our guest is the Executive Director of the nonprofit Take Control Initiative (or TCI). Per its website, the TCI "is a program aimed at reducing the high rate of unplanned and teen pregnancies in the Tulsa area.

On this installment of ST, our guest is Cameron Walker, the Executive Director of Tulsa Habitat for Humanity (or THFH). This crucial nonprofit recently received a $6.7 million grant from the Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation, and therefore, as we learn on today's program, THFH is transitioning from building 25 to 30 houses per year (which is what it does in the Tulsa area currently) to building 150 houses per year (which is what it aims to be doing four years from now).

For every six Oklahomans, one is hungry, according to the latest data. And as the U.S. Congress looks to potentially address a $1.5 trillion projected deficit, many domestic programs face an uncertain if not bleak future -- including food-assistance and hunger-relief programs -- both here in the Sooner State and nationwide. On this edition of ST, we are discussing these matters with Effie Craven, who is the State Advocacy and Public Policy Director for both of the Oklahoma Food Banks (i.e., the Regional Food Bank in OKC as well as the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma in Tulsa).

On this installment of ST Medical Monday, we are discussing World AIDS Day, which arrives on Friday the 1st; we're also talking more generally about how people with AIDS are cared for here in our community. We have two guests -- the first is Kate Neary, the CEO of a local nonprofit known as Tulsa Cares, and the second is Dr. Madhuri Lad, who works in the Department of Internal Medicine at the OSU-Tulsa College of Health Sciences (and who is, moreover, certified in HIV Medicine).

"To have great poets," as Walt Whitman once noted, "there must also be great audiences." And great cities, it would seem, likewise require great bookstores. On this edition of ST, we learn all about Magic City Books -- an indie bookstore owned and operated by the non-profit Tulsa Literary Coalition (or TLC) -- which will soon, at long last, open for business in downtown Tulsa. Indeed, after a series of construction-related delays, Magic City Books will open on Monday the 20th at 9pm...with Mayor G.T.

On this installment of ST Medical Monday, our guest is Dr. David Kendrick, CEO of the locally based nonprofit, MyHealth Access Network. This network, serving more than 2 million clients throughout Greater Tulsa, works to link health care providers and their patients in a digitally-driven data network aimed at improving the health of patients, reducing inefficiency and waste, and coordinating care more effectively. As Dr. Kendrick tells us today, MyHealth Access Network has recently received a $4.5 million federal grant to establish the Route 66 Accountable Health Community.

On this edition of StudioTulsa, we learn about the forthcoming Mother Road Market. As was reported last week by KWGS News, when the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation announced that it would fund this market (to be housed in a empty warehouse at 11th and Lewis in Tulsa): "The Mother Road Market will be a community food destination, allowing Tulsans and tourists alike to eat, sip, shop, and enjoy Tulsa's favorite neighborhood restaurants and brand new food concepts -- all under one roof.

Beginning today, and running through August 6th, the nonprofit Choregus Productions will present its second-annual Summer Heat International Dance Festival. The Festival starts with a Gala Performance (happening tonight, the 28th, at the Tulsa PAC, beginning 8pm) that will spotlight guest artists from leading dance companies from the United States, Canada, and Europe -- and this opener will be followed by a solid week of performances by the celebrated Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, The Paul Taylor Dance Company, and Brian Brooks Moving Company.

Living Arts of Tulsa -- a vital part of the arts scene here in town, and a long-running locally-based nonprofit that seems to be increasingly popular -- now has, for the first time in decades, a new artistic director. Our guest on ST is that individual: Jessica Borusky, who's been on the job for only two or three weeks at this point.

The transition from childhood to adulthood -- the adolescent and post-adolescent years, and all that go with them -- can be difficult, of course, for a host of reasons. Whether it's finding a job, finishing school, locating a place to live, discovering what one's goals really are, deciding on a career path, and so forth -- these can be trying experiences; relying on the aid of one's family and friends in such cases is paramount. But what if you're confronting these realities and you actually have no family? Or you have no "support network" of friends, mentors, and relatives?

On this installment of ST Medical Monday, we speak by phone with Kim Garrett, the executive director and founder of Palomar, the nonprofit Oklahoma City Family Justice Center, which opened its doors earlier this year and has already aided thousands of people. Drawing on the resources of hundreds of professionals and volunteers, Palomar helps OKC-area victims of violence -- that is, individuals from all walsk of life and their children -- by offering protection, hope, and healing in a single location; some 14 different organizations are all based on-site at Palomar.

Our guest is Todd Cunningham, the Executive Director of Arts Alliance Tulsa, which is, per its website, "a United Arts Fund that strengthens and supports the arts for a greater Tulsa through fundraising, support services, audience development, and responsible investment and allocation of resources." Comprised of dozens of outstanding nonprofit arts groups from throughout the Tulsa area, Arts Alliance Tulsa has only been around for a couple of years now -- but its very presence highlights the important role that the arts play in our community'

On this edition of ST, we listen back to a broadcast from late February. At that time, our guest was psychologist and author Kenneth E. Miller, who has been working with war-affected communities since 1991 as a researcher, clinician, organizational consultant, and filmmaker.

On this edition of ST Medical Monday, we get to know Robin Steinberg, a New York City-based public defender who founded the nonprofit Bronx Defenders in the late 1990s. This organization is still known for its model of "holistic defense," in which clients are advocated for by an interdisciplinary team of professionals (legal and otherwise) who address the underlying causes as well as the collateral consequences of our criminal-justice system. As Steinberg tells us, in January of this year, the Bronx Defenders opened a smaller-scale satellite office in North Tulsa called Still She Rises.

Our guest on ST today is Eileen Bradshaw, Executive Director of the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. The Food Bank, as it's commonly known, is the largest private hunger-relief organization in eastern Oklahoma; it's been around since 1981. As is noted at this special nonprofit's website: "Our vision is food security, with dignity, for all eastern Oklahomans.... With locations in Tulsa and McAlester, we provide food and other donated goods to 450 Partner Programs in 24 counties of eastern Oklahoma.

Our guest on ST is Chuck Marohn, an engineer based in Minnesota and member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. He's also the founder and president of Strong Towns, a nationwide media nonprofit that, per its website, supports "a model of development that allows America's cities, towns, and neighborhoods to become financially strong and resilient. For the United States to be a prosperous country, it must have strong cities, towns, and neighborhoods.

On this edition of StudioTulsa, we welcome Steve Liggett back to our program. A well-known figure on the local arts scene, Liggett is an art teacher and sculptor who's also the director of the nonprofit Living Arts of Tulsa, which was established in the 1960s by Virginia Myers and others as a haven for the creation and display of contemporary art right here in T-Town.

On this edition of ST, we offer a wide-ranging chat with Bill Leighty, the executive director of Smart Growth Tulsa, which was founded in April of 2014 and incorporated as a nonprofit just recently. This organization, per its website, is "committed to policies, not politics. We seek to create healthy communities that work for everyone, with strong schools and local businesses, improved mobility options and jobs that pay well....

On this edition of ST, we're talking about the nonprofit collective known as ImpactTulsa, which began in 2014, and which (per its website) aims to "improve education for every child. Our partnership includes [several dozens of] leaders from education, business, philanthropic, nonprofit, civic, and faith communities who all believe education is the key to the prosperity of our community." Our guest is Kathy Seibold, the executive director of ImpactTulsa, who tells us about her organzation's recently released Community Impact Report for 2016.

On this edition of ST Medical Monday, we speak with two representatives from the Tulsa Housing Authority (or THA): Matt Letzig is the organization's Interim CEO and Terri Cole is its VP for Assisted Housing. THA, as noted at its website, "provides publicly assisted housing comprised of traditional public housing, mixed finance sites, and Section 8. Currently, THA provides assistance to more than 20,000 individuals, or 7,200 families....

On this edition of ST, we welcome back to our show Steve Grantham, the executive director of Up With Trees, which is a popular nonprofit that's been active in Tulsa since 1976. As noted at the Up With Trees website: "In the last four decades, we have planted over 30,000 trees at more than 500 sites throughout Tulsa.

On this edition of ST Medical Monday, an interesting chat with Dr. James S. Gordon, a well-regarded expert on using mind-body medicine to heal depression, anxiety, and psychological trauma. Dr. Gordon is the Founder and Executive Director of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine; he's also a Clinical Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Family Medicine at Georgetown Medical School. He tells us about The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (or CMBM) on today's show.

On this edition of StudioTulsa, we speak with Nathan Pritchett, executive director of Fab Lab Tulsa. This popular nonprofit, which opened in Tulsa (near 7th and Lewis) in 2011, offers, per its website, "community access to advanced manufacturing and digital fabrication tools for learning skills, developing inventions, creating businesses, and producing personalized products. Fab Lab Tulsa is one of over 700 MIT-chartered Fab Labs in more than 70 countries and the first in the southeastern region of the United States.

On this edition of StudioTulsa, we are talking about Tulsa Global Alliance, which is, per its website, is "a non-profit volunteer organization that connects people, companies, families, organizations, and students from Tulsa and Oklahoma with the rest of the world." Our guests are Tom Hemphill, the President and CEO of TGA, and Ken Busby, a former head of the TGA Governing Board.